Never Say Never
by The Werewolf Mage
Summary: Remus is fine with living with Gen. But he's not fine with her making advances. Will he be happy when it seems like she's finally over him? Rating and genres may change
1. Chapter 1

Title: Never Say Never

Summary: Remus is fine with living with Gen. But he's not fine with her making advances. Will he be happy when it seems like she's finally over him?

Notes: I'm sick as a dog, so this chapter might not make much sense. But I'm actually able to sit at the computer for more than ten minutes before going to sleep.

Chapter 1

"Come on, Remus, get up!"

Remus groaned loudly. He wanted to sleep. And Gen reminded him of his mother when she woke him up when he was little. He grabbed the blankets and burrowed up under them.

Only to have her snatch them to the foot of his bed.

"Get up!"

Remus fumbled around for his blankets, but not able to reach them, he grabbed his wand from the table beside his bed and Summoned them back to his reach.

There were times when he was glad to have a roommate, especially one who offered to pay for everything like Gen did. Then there were times, like then, he was not too happy to have a roommate.

But she was not going to give up. So he figured he had best get up and see what she wanted.

He groaned loudly and fumbled for his watch. To his surprise, it was only 8:30.

"You're up rather early, Gwendolyn," he said, suppressing a yawn, "and you're quite cheerful, too. What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Oh, no reason." He watched as she, happy with her success, headed to the door. "Oh, hey," she added, stopping with her hand on the door, a strand of black hair falling in her face, "you've got an owl this morning."

"From?" he asked. But she had already headed down the hall.

"Gwendolyn Elizabeth Moore, why do I live with you?" Remus grumbled as he got up and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.

When he got out, he studied his reflection for a minute. Damp sandy hair fell in his brown eyes and his complexion was rather pale. But that amounted to the full moon next week. He had to admit he did not look as though he should be living with someone like Gen.

But she did not seem to care.

As he joined her in the kitchen, that became painfully obvious to him as every strand of her long black hair seemed neatly pulled back into a bejeweled butterfly clip and the expense of her robes was apparent as well.

She smiled faintly at him and handed him a glass of pumpkin juice.

"You never answered my question."

"Which was that?" she asked.

"Why the good mood?" Remus asked, taking a sip of his juice. "And, even though I'm not sure I really want to ask, but why up so early?"

"I didn't sleep well last night." Gen shrugged. "I know, don't say it. I'm usually grumpy. But I guess I'm entitled to a good mood every now and again."

"Sometimes I wish it was more than that." Remus muttered.

She hopped onto the counter and said nothing as he thumbed the _The Daily Prophet_, then, finding nothing of interest, he turned to the letter she had left on the table. It was just a short letter from his parents telling him that they would be going on holiday soon and would like to see him, and Gen if she was willing,before they left.

"Want to go see my parents later?" he asked her, waving the letter around.

"Oh." Gen looked rather crestfallen. "Oh, well, when?"

"Tonight?" Remus asked, looking confused by her reaction. She seemed to like his parents. And his parents adored her.

"No, I'll pass. Thanks anyway."

Remus watched her as she headed back to her room. She shut the door, not bothering to lock it, and flopped down on the bed, ignored her owl, Frank, as he hooted loudly at her.

"Just my luck." she groaned. She could not be angry at Remus, though. It was not his fault his parents were going on vacation.

Or that she managed to get tickets to a concert from one of the most popular bands in the Wizarding world when they went to Hogsmeade. Which was a rare occurrence itself.

She decided to owl them to Sirius. He could find use for them. And she did not feel like going anymore.

She got up and grabbed a bit of parchment and pulled the tickets from her pocket. She stared at them wistfully. The pale blue lettering, silver bordering, the band, or whoever designed the tickets, seemed to know what she liked.

After scribbling a quick note to Sirius, and boldly adding that she would not go with him no matter how much he asked, she stuffed the tickets and the note in an envelope and handed them to Frank.

"Take it to Sirius, Frank."

He hooted loudly, but took the letter in his beak and flew out the open window.

And just as Frank flew off, Remus knocked on her bedroom door. He peeked around the door and scowled. "I was hoping you hadn't let Frank out."

"I had a letter for him to send." Gen replied.

"So did I." Remus said. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then muttered, "Will you let me know when he gets back?"

"Sure will." Gen said in a sweet tone.

She waited until he left to shut the door completely and sat down on the edge of her bed. As happy as she was a little while ago, she was now feeling very upset.

But it wasn't Remus's fault. She had to remind herself of that.

Maybe a walk would make her feel better. She doubted it, but she could try.

But to get out, she had to walk past the living room. She could not Disapparate, lest any Muggles see her. Even though that was a little-to-none chance.

"Going for a walk, be back later."

Remus glanced up as Gen hurried past the living room and slammed the front door behind her. He sighed softly and shook his head. Sure, he could not help but feel bad, but he had told her that their relationship was strictly a friendship.

And he was bound to keep it that way for her sake.


	2. Chapter 2

Never Say Never

Note: And a large happy birthday to me. Yes. I couldn't decide what to update today but then I remembered that dream I had last night, so, I'm going with this again. I realize this chapter is short, but I'll pick up, promise.

Chapter 2

Gen wandered aimlessly, her head bowed against the sharp wind. She wasn't even in the mood to grumble herself. Something like that always happened! Always!

'I should just stop trying things, I guess.' she thought.

She stopped and vaguely thought of going to Hogsmeade for a bottle of Firewhiskey. She fumbled through her pockets and pulled out two Knuts. Which would pay for nothing.

"Damn." she whispered.

"Language, Moore."

"Oh, shut it, you're not my mother." she scowled.

"I would hope not." Sirius said as he joined her. "I was just looking for you. I wanted to thank you for the tickets and return your owl to you."

"Remus needed him." Gen said, staring at Sirius's hands, which bore Frank's marks, as Frank hated almost anything male, especially Sirius.

"Yes, he said so." Sirius said, sticking his hands in his pockets and eying her. "Are you sure you don't want to go tonight?"

Gen wanted to be rather rude with him, but held back. "Yeah, I changed my mind. I figured, even if you had tickets already, I'm sure you can get away with taking more than one woman on a date at a time."

She began to head back to the loft she shared with Remus, Sirius started to walk with her, not though trying to find some way to convince her to go with him.

"I didn't have any. I couldn't get any either." Sirius admitted. "Womanly charms?" he asked her.

Gen smiled faintly. "More like staying up all night in the hopes no one else would."

"And it worked?" Sirius asked, a bit astonished.

"Mm-hmm." Gen nodded. She was silently wishing Sirius would go away. She did not feel like talking to him. Or anyone. But she'd rather be home than in his company.

Sirius was watching her out of the corner of his eye. Sure, her body language kindly suggested he leave her alone. But there was something troubling her as well. And he wanted to know what that was.

But Gen wanted to stay silent. So, he left with another word of thanks and a reluctant good-bye at the door.

Fumbling for her keys, Gen hoped Remus wasn't home. But of course he was.

So, with a tiny sigh, she headed into the living room and sat down next to him, determined to try to hide how bitter she felt right then.

"Short walk." Remus commented with a small smile.

"Yeah, well..." Gen trailed off. She frowned and looked away.

"Sirius?" Remus asked. "Oh, and, what is this I hear about tickets?"

"What?" Gen asked, looking up suddenly. "He told you about -- ?"

Remus nodded. "Why didn't you say anything about them?"

"Because you wanted to go see your parents." Gen said softly. She sounded disappointed. No, miserable. She sniffled, and got to her feet. "And I didn't want to hold you back from that. Did they not say when they'd be back?"

"Well, no, I figured we'd talk to them tonight."

But Gen was muttering to herself. Something along the lines of "don't even know why I got them".

"Got what?" Remus demanded, reaching over for her hand, as she looked close to bolting. He managed to silently coax her back on the couch.

"Those tickets. You wouldn't want to go anyway." she muttered. He watched as she reached a hand behind her and began to entwine the fingers on her left hand in her hair.

"No," he began, getting her fingers out of her hair before they became badly tangled, "I've got to break you of that." And he meant it, even though he had said it for a while now and had not acted on it yet.

"Why?" she asked, her lower lip stuck out slightly. "I've always done it, ever since I can remember."

Remus smiled faintly. He could not help but notice her being stubborn, no matter how upset. "Listen, come with me tonight, and I'll see what I can do, well, next weekend, if I'm up to it." Remus said, hoping to cheer her up.

"You mean it?" Gen asked eagerly, all sorrow gone.

What had he just agreed to?


	3. Chapter 3

Never Say Never

Chapter 3

Gen peeled off her cloak and tossed it over the couch. The two of them had just gotten back from visiting his parents and they had dropped some not-so-subtle hints about the two of them getting together.

Which did not help her mood.

She wanted to head straight to bed, but she felt Remus grab her hand. She tried to shrug him off, she did not feel like talking to him.

But he was not going to give up.

"Come here, Gwendolyn. I want to talk to you."

"I want to go to bed. " Gen argued. She tried again to pull her hand from his grasp. But he was not going to let her go. He was determined to speak to her.

"Fine." she huffed. "Say whatever it is you're going to say."

Remus let go of her hand and stuck his hands in his pockets. "My parents... I've tried to explain to them about us, but they won't listen. You shouldn't let them get to you. Or influence you."

"Fine," she said again, "whatever."

He watched her as she headed to her room and flinched as she slammed the door behind her.

Instead of going to bed himself, he sank down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea. He had never led Gen on. He could not think of why she was so persistent.

As he sipped, he could barely hear her throwing things around in her room. He heaved a sigh and got to his feet, wondering whether or not it would help to try to calm her down.

He decided against it and went to his room.

He changed into his pajamas and stretched out on his bed, wondering whether or not she would even care to do something together the next weekend.

Surprisingly, he was asleep in an instant.

And he did not wake up until well past lunch the following day. With a glance at his watch, he let out a groan and dragged himself out of bed and into the shower.

When he was done, he called, "Gwendolyn! Why didn't you get me up?"

She did not answer.

A quick search of the loft showed she was not at home.

"Well, then," Remus began, sitting down at the table as he had the night before, "I wonder where she could be."

He did not have to wonder for long. She soon bounded into the loft, humming to herself.

"Well, someone's happy." Remus commented with a small smile. "Want to tell me why?"

"No reason." Gen said sweetly. She headed to her bedroom, where he could hear the faint sounds of her rummaging around for something.

"And you're just leaving again?" he asked as she passed him on her way out. "I figured you'd want to spend some time here or something."

"Sorry." Gen shrugged. "I'll be back soon, though." she added as she rushed out.

'What is that about?' Remus asked, getting to his feet and heading to his own room. He carefully counted his money and decided to head to Honeyduke's.

He felt he deserved some chocolate.

In Hogsmeade, he ran into James. Who was quick to question Gen's absence.

"Where's your roomie? Usually, it seems the two of you are inseparable." Noting the look on Remus's face, James laughed and said, "I'm kidding. I haven't heard from her lately, that's all."

"She's fine, I think." Remus said as he and James headed into Honeyduke's. "I slept in today and she wasn't home. She came back for about two seconds, then left again. So I don't know where she is."

James raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Remus continued by saying that his parents were determined to get the two of them together and that he wasn't happy with that.

"Your parents are looking out for you." James pointed out. "And they, along with me, see that she is perfect for you. So what's the problem? Besides the obvious furry one?"

Remus thought about this. Nothing, besides his furry little problem. But, when it came to something like this, it was not so little. To him anyway.

"Exactly!" James said, grinning. Remus's silence seemed to be the answer he was looking for. Or he judged it as a nothing. And there was a nothing that he knew of.

"You don't get it, James." Remus sighed as he paid for his chocolate. "She's just..."

"Just?" James asked, following him out of the shop.

"Just..." What was the word Remus wanted? He could not find it, even though it felt like it was on the tip of his tongue.

"Give her a chance."

"Why?" Remus asked, unwrapping his chocolate and stuffing a large piece in his mouth. "So I can disappoint her? So I can break her heart?"

"So you can make her happy!"

"Frankly, James, judging by her attitude last night, I don't think that's possible."


	4. Chapter 4

Never Say Never

Note: I didn't want to update until the alerts are fixed, but who knows when that'll be?

Chapter 4

Gen was perched on the kitchen counter, munching away at a handful of Every Flavour Beans. She and Remus had been inadvertently avoiding each other all week. And she was getting tired of it.

But not so tired that she wanted to say something.

She figured that if she did, he wold probably push her away further.

With a sigh, she popped the last bean, a peppermint bean, and hopped off the counter. She had nothing to do and the loft could have used a bit of cleaning.

Even though she wasn't too fond of housework.

She fumbled through her pockets, looking for her wand, but she could not find it. With another sigh, she headed back to her room to search for it.

It was not on her beside table, or on her desk. She dropped to her knees and lifted the blankets hanging over the edge of her unmade bed. She spotted her wand up under the bed, almost out of her reach.

"Almost... just a little... further..." Gen scowled as her fingers barely touched her wand. She tried to wriggle herself further under the bed and managed to snatch her wand.

"What are you doing, Gwendolyn?"

"Ow!" The surprise of hearing Remus ask her what she was doing caused her to jump and she hit her head on the bed frame.

"Thanks a lot." she said, crawling out from under her bed, rubbing her head and clutching her wand.

"I'm sorry. Are you OK?"

"Fine." Gen grumbled. "Just lost my wand."

Remus looked as though he wanted to say something else, but shook his head slowly and left the room.

Gen got to her feet, brushing dust and dirt off her robes. "Gwendolyn," she began in a mocking tone, jabbing her wand at her bed, "Gwendolyn, Gwendolyn." She felt like grumbling more to herself, but swished her wand, making her bed up in one motion.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and headed down the hall, not even bothering to wonder where Remus had run off to.

'As long as he's not here...'

She never thought there would come a day where she did not want to be around Remus. But right then, she did not.

She padded down the hall and to the kitchen, where she flicked her wand, trying to get the dishes to wash themselves as she did not feel like putting her hands in dishwater at the moment.

But she wound up washing them by hands, as the dishes did not want to cooperate with her.

By the time she dried her hands on a nearby dishtowel, Remus came back and sank down at the table. She wanted to ignore him, but he was watching her, so she would feel bad if she did.

"What?" she demanded, tossing the towel on the counter and snatching up her wand again. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to ask you something." Remus began softly.

"Well, I'm a bit busy right now."

Without another word, or waiting to hear what he had to say, she headed out of the kitchen and into the living room.

She sank down on the couch and tucked her knees up under her. Again she flicked her wand, clearing the dust from the top of the bookshelf and straightening the books. With another swish, she swept some old letters and copies of _The Daily Prophet _into the nearby wastebasket.

That was all that she could think of that needed to be done. Though she was sure there was more.

Instead of finding what she had to do, she leaned back and shut her eyes. 'Just for a minute...' she thought.

The next thing she knew, Remus was gently shaking her awake.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to go to sleep." Remus told her. He had sat down next to her and was smiling softly. "I wanted to ask you something, but you did not give me the chance earlier."

"What?" Gen asked with a yawn. She got to her feet and stretched before curling back up on the couch, eying him curiously.

"I was wondering... if you wanted to do anything tonight? Before tomorrow night..." he trailed off and looked away.

She bit her lip, wondering if he really meant it.

On the one hand, she would have loved to go with him. On the other... no, she could not go with him. She was just going to get her hopes up.

"I'm sorry..." Gen began softly, regretting what she was about to say before she even said it. "I'm so sorry, but no. I'll have to pass."


	5. Chapter 5

Never Say Never

Chapter 5

"She said no?" James stared at Remus in disbelief. The two of them were sitting in the living room of the loft, and Remus had just told James about asking Gen if she'd be willing to do something with him.

Remus nodded slowly. He had been up the entire night, something he really should not have done, trying to figure out why Gen would say no.

He wasn't too sure that she was 'moving on' so to speak. She sounded as though she were reluctant to say no to him.

So what was she thinking?

Suppressing a yawn, Remus glanced at James. "Is it me? I mean... is it something like...I'm finally showing her attention and she doesn't want it anymore?"

"Gen?" James asked. "No, I don't see it being that."

'I could.' Remus thought.

But he had to admit, he was glad she had not seen it as a romantic gesture. If she had, she certainly wasn't showing it.

Last night, she had gone to bed early. And this morning, she had left just as he woke up.

He was snapped back to attention by James asking, "Well, how are we going to find out?"

"We?" Remus asked. "I don't really want to find out..." he trailed off at the look James gave him. "You can try." he muttered. "If you can find her."

"Then I will." James got to his feet and threw his cloak over his shoulders.

Remus merely shook his head. In all honesty, he was hoping James wouldn't even find Gen. But he knew better than to hope that. James could find her anywhere.

And that he did.

She was at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, absently jabbing at a banana split with her spoon.

"The ice cream offend you, Gwendolyn?" James asked as he sat down across from her.

She stopped, glanced up at him from behind several strands of black hair, then glanced back down at her ice cream and continued to jab it.

"I'll take that as a yes."

James seemed cheerful. And Gen did not want to deal with anyone who was cheerful at that moment.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"To ask you a question."

She was silent for a minute, then dropped her spoon and sighed. "Well? What is it?"

"Why turn down Remus? He's pretty upset about that."

She scoffed before she could help herself. "Oh, really? And I'm not when he does the same to me?"

James grinned at her. He knew exactly what she was trying to do. "You aren't going to skirt around my question, Gwendolyn. Why say no? I would have thought you'd pay all the money in your bank vault to have Remus ask you somewhere."

"It wouldn't be a date."

"Aaah..." James began slowly. "So you don't want to go with him unless it is?"

"I didn't say that." Gen muttered. She was trying her best to avoid his question. She wasn't even too sure why.

Well, no. She was sure why. She just didn't want to say. And she wasn't too sure how to word it so that James would understand.

By then, her ice cream was just a puddle. She hadn't wanted it anyway.

Ignoring James, she got to her feet, grabbed her ice cream, and tossed it into the nearby bin. She wasn't too sure where she wanted to go, but away from James would be nice.

But he wasn't going to let her get away from him that easily.

"Hey, Gwennie, wait up!"

She sighed and stopped, waiting for him to catch up to her.

"So?" James asked.

"So what?" Gen asked him as she continued to walk, but at a slightly slower pace. "So why don't you go home, James? It's none of your concern."

"Yes, it is. I want the two of you together."

"You've given up on me and Sirius?" Gen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Good."

"Oh come off it, Moore," James began, throwing an arm over her shoulder and grinning, "pushing Moony away is killing you. It's so... painfully obvious."

She went to shrug his arm off but he held fast. "Now, do me a favor, will you?"

"Will it get you to leave me alone?" she huffed.

"Maybe." James smiled. "Go back to your place and tell Remus you'll take him to lunch or something. It might make the both of you feel better."

"I am not." Gen scowled. "It won't make him feel better. So go on. Go home and forget it."

James would be going home, but he wasn't going to forget it. And he knew she would be doing a complete three-sixty in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

Never Say Never

Chapter 6

Remus had curled up in bed as soon as he got home the following morning. No trip to St. Mungo's, no cleaning his wounds himself. No nothing.

He just wanted to sleep.

He did not hear Gen come in his room. But he did feel her sit on the bed and brush his hair out of his face.

"How are you feeling?" she murmured.

He did not answer her. Instead, he took the blanket and tried to pull it over his head.

"OK," she said softly, "I'll leave you be."

She padded back into her room, grabbed a fresh change of clothes and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. She dried herself, changed, and ran a brush through her damp hair, not bothering to dry it.

"How's our boy, Mummy?" James teased as he grinned at her from the couch.

"James! What are you doing here?"

"Checking on Remus." James got to his feet and grinned. "And you. How are you doing?"

Gen shrugged. "I'm fine. I guess." She sank down on the couch, so James headed back to Remus's room. He shook his head and rolled his eyes and made to leave when he heard Remus muttering to himself.

"What's the matter, Moony?" James asked, shutting the door and crossing the room to kneel down next to the bed.

"She's worried about me, isn't she?" he muttered.

"Well look at you! You're a mess!" James sighed and pulled out his wand, flicking it and getting most of the blood off Remus and his sheets. "Why didn't you drop by St. Mungo's and let them clean you up?"

"Too tired." Remus muttered.

"Need me to get you anything?"

"I've got Gen. She can."

"She won't be too thrilled to leave you." James said, sitting down on the bed. "Even for a few minutes."

"I know." Remus snuggled against his pillow and sighed. "Where is she, anyway?"

"Probably still in the living room, where I left her."

"Is she... OK?" Remus could not find the word he was looking for.

James was silent for a few moments. "She's... as OK as she usually is, I think."

Remus sat up and glanced at James before asking, "And what are you up to? I know you, James, and you're not just checking up on me. So what are you doing here?"

James smirked before saying "I wanted to talk to her. See if I can get something out of her. Like why she turned you down."

Remus yawned, but nodded. "Try to see why. And let me know if you do."

James took that to mean that Remus wanted to be left alone, or at least did not feel like talking about this anymore. So he got up and left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Gen was in the kitchen, sipping a glass of butterbeer. "Hey you," he said, hopping up on the counter, "talk to me."

"Why?" she asked. "I would think you're a bit busy here lately. But I can if you really think I must. What do you want to talk about?"

"You and Moony."

Gen cocked her head and stared at him. "James, leave it be -- "

"Why didn't you go out with him?"

Gen sighed and stared into her half-empty glass. "Well... why not? I mean... we aren't together, he's not interested, and I wouldn't have enjoyed myself, anyway."

"So you have to be together to enjoy yourself?" James asked, swinging his feet and hitting the lower cabinets. He wasn't doing it on purpose. It was more of a subconscious thing.

And she didn't seem bothered by it anyway.

"No..." She began to run her finger along the rim of the glass. "But, James, you don't get it. You've got Lily. I seriously doubt you know how I feel or what I'm thinking. It's... kind of like disappointment. But not just that. If we went out, it would kind of feel like a date, then, when he would point out it wasn't, as he so kindly does, I'd be crushed. And you know it."

James nodded slowly. Sure he had not felt like that before, but he knew what she was getting at.

He felt like hopping up and going to tell Remus, but he was sure he had fallen asleep. And Gen would not appreciate it either way.

"Well," James began, hopping down, "why don't you go out for a bit? Get some fresh air. I'll keep an eye on Moony."

"Are you sure?" Gen asked, looking wary. "I can stay -- "

"No, go on! You could use it!"

"Oh... OK." She got to her feet, put her glass in the sink and muttered a quick thanks.

James silently said his own word of thanks. Now he could talk to Remus and she would be out of the house and not hate him for playing the role of messenger.


	7. Chapter 7

Never Say Never

Chapter 7

"He slept?" Gen asked, her tone obviously disbelieving. She did not enjoy being out that afternoon, but stayed out as long as she could.

"He did." James smiled. "But he's fine." he added quickly, spotting the concerned expression on her face.

"OK..." Gen trailed off slowly. "Thank you."

"No problem. Take it easy, Gwen."

"You too." she nodded, seeing him to the door. Once she shut it behind him, she sighed.

Yes, she was glad James offered to stay with Remus to get her out of the loft, but she would have much rather stayed and kept an eye on him. But she had to admit, James had a bit more experience handling a weak and tired werewolf than she did.

Even so, she tiptoed back to Remus's room and quietly pushed the door open.

James had been right. Remus was curled up in the same position he had been when she last checked on him. She took a step or two inside the room. He moved a bit and sighed softly in his sleep.

She smiled, apparently satisfied.

She shut the door behind her and padded down the to kitchen, kicking off her shoes as she went. A nice sandwich would be OK. She was not too hungry.

She sat on the counter, sipping a glass of pumpkin juice and eating a chicken sandwich. Which she did not even finish half of.

With a scowl, she tossed the leftover sandwich in the bin and headed to the living room. She curled up on the couch, still sipping her juice. Pulling out her wand, she summoned the blanket that had been tossed over the back of the chair to her so she could snuggle up in it.

"I could use a nap." she murmured to herself. "But I shouldn't fall asleep. Someone needs to keep an eye on Remus."

With a quick glance at the clock, she kicked off the blanket impatiently and headed to the bathroom, where she cut on the water and sat on the edge of the tub.

She did not look up until she heard Remus say "Guess I slept later than I thought."

"I guess so. Do you need to get in here?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"I'd like a bath, to be honest." he said sheepishly.

"Then you take one. I can get one later." Gen was someone glad she had not put in some lilac bubble bath. Remus usually complained about it, in a joking kind of way, and she wasn't too sure it would be too good for him to have a bubble bath then, anyway.

"Are you sure?" he asked as she passed him. She nodded and left, shutting the door behind her.

"OK..." With a small frown, he undressed and slid into the tub, very glad he had not decided on a shower. He did not feel as though he could stand for two seconds, much less for a twenty minute shower.

Or however long it took the hot water to take away of the ache.

And she had made sure the water was hot. For that, he was glad.

He stayed in the tub until the water was cold, pondering. Why was Gwendolyn acting so stranger lately? Granted, she was always strange, but, she was being distant. And it seemed to him as though she was pushing him away. Why? What brought that on?

The answer still had not came to him by the time he changed and dragged himself into the living room with her. Vaguely, he wondered if James had gotten through to her.

He was sure he did. But James did not say anything to him. Probably because he did not want to wake him.

"Didn't sleep?" Remus asked, glancing at Gen. She was curled up on the couch, bundled in the blanket once more.

"No, not at all."

At least she was still concerned.

'Wait, Remus,' he thought, 'what are you thinking?'

Gen seemed to be thinking the same thing. She was watching him out of the corner of her eye, it so obvious to her that he was fighting himself about something. But what could it be?

'Not me.' she decided.

"Where's Frank?" Remus asked suddenly.

Gen jumped slightly. She was not expecting him to ask that. Or to say anything, really. He looked busy internally arguing with himself.

"He's... out hunting."

Remus frowned. So he would either have to talk to James about what he was thinking, or wait until his parents got back. And he'd much rather talk to his father. Even though both of them would be trying to push him with Gwendolyn if they found out what he was thinking.


	8. Chapter 8

Never Say Never

Chapter 8

Remus decided it might be best to try to ignore these thoughts of his. He spent the weekend lazing about the loft, not too bothered about leaving his room, but having to anyway.

On Sunday evening, he was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, when there was a tapping at the window. He glanced up, figuring it was Frank or James's owl, but instead, he saw his mother's, a letter held fast in the owl's beak.

"What is it?" Remus asked the owl, opening the window so it could fly in. The owl dropped the letter and watched him intently.

"Was I told to reply, or are you wanting something?"

The owl hooted.

With a small frown, Remus picked up the letter. Not even his father's handwriting cheered him up. He tore open the letter and read it quickly.

"So..." Remus began to the owl. "They're staying longer than originally thought. And I'm to watch you?"

The owl hooted once more.

Pulling out his wand, Remus conjured up a cage, in which the owl fluttered inside and settled down in. "I'll have to see if Gen has any treats for you."

He slipped out of his room and headed into the living room. Gen was settled on the couch, her knees drawn up under her, the paper in her lap.

"Gwendolyn," Remus began softly, "where's Frank's treats?"

She glanced up, slightly startled. "They're in the kitchen. Why?"

"My parents are going to be away a bit longer and I'm to watch their owl."

Gen nodded slowly before returning her attention to the paper in her lap. Remus rummaged around the kitchen for a few minutes in search of the treats, finally finding them. On his way back to his room, he paused.

She was still reading, her attention was still on the paper, and nothing, it seemed, was going to distract her. As he watched, she tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear.

He shook his head a bit before heading to his room. He tossed a few treats to his mother's owl before stretching out on his bed.

The owl seemed to be thinking the same way he did. It tucked its head under its wing for a nap.

The next thing Remus knew, Gen was lightly shaking him awake. "Remus," she said softly, "get up."

"Anything wrong?" he asked sleepily.

"No..." she began slowly. "Nothing's wrong, but... aren't you hungry? Or do you plan to sleep through the night?"

"I can get up if you want."

Gen was quiet. He was sure she had woke him up, not out of worry, but for the need of company. Or someone to talk to for a few minutes.

"It's OK." she said softly. "If you want to sleep, then sleep. You need to."

He heard her head to the door and quickly shut it behind her. Now, he was positive she wanted someone to talk to.

But he did not get up to go check on her. Instead, he snuggled up under his blankets and fell right back to sleep.

Gen padded into the living room and sighed. Instead of settling herself on the couch, she crossed the room to the window and peered out behind the curtain.

It had begun to rain.

"Nice." she sighed. "Just when I need a bottle, or three, of Firewhiskey."

She resigned herself to drinking the butterbeer in the house instead. Settling down at the table, she pulled out the paper, a quill, and a nearly empty bottle of ink.

Her focus was now on the crossword. Absently, she flicked the quill along the table, trying to remember the oldest member of the Weird Sister's name.

She wound up skipping that one. And nine down. And four across. And seventeen down. And just about all the rest.

"Your mind isn't one for puzzle tonight, Gen." she told herself. Reluctantly, she dragged herself to her room, gathered up her pajamas, and headed to the bathroom.

Not a bath that night. She cut on the shower, stripped, and stepped under the spray.

Even that did not make her feel better. She felt like crying, to be honest. And the shower was not a bad place to cry.

But she held back.

She dried herself, dressed, and headed to her room. She flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like ages.

The only thing that snapped her to attention was the sound of Remus heading down the hall. He must have thought she was asleep, because he was being as quiet as he could be.

"Right." she whispered. "Avoid me. Go on. Nothing's stopped you before."

With an angry huff, she grabbed her pillow, hugged it, and tried to fall asleep. And sleep quickly came.


	9. Chapter 9

Never Say Never

Chapter 9

Gen found herself in inch deep puddles as she browsed through Diagon Alley. She needed to buy something. But what, she was unsure. So she was hoping the browsing she was doing would jog her memory a bit.

So far it had not.

She sighed softly and wrapped her cloak tighter around herself. It was rather nippy. She was wishing she was back in the loft.

Part of her was, anyway. The part that was cold.

"What did I need?" she whined to herself as she passed the apothecary. "No potion items, that's for sure. I hate making potions."

She stamped her foot, which was a bad thing to do. Several droplets of water flew up, most splattering on the hem of her cloak.

"Nice."

With a tiny sigh, Gen pulled her wand out of her pocket and waved it, drying her cloak, for the most part.

She decided to head into The Leaky Cauldron for a glass of Firewhiskey. It might jog her memory. Or at least make her feel a bit better.

She ducked inside and settled at the end of the bar. "You don't have to ask, Tom." she muttered as he made his way over to her. "You should know what I want."

He reached under the bar and slid a bottle of butterbeer her way.

"No." she began sweetly.

"I'm not selling you Firewhiskey." Tom told her. "Drink the butterbeer or go."

"But I don't want to go to Hogsmeade." Gen muttered. Tom inclined his head, so she reluctantly took the bottle, popped off the cap, and sipped.

As she sipped, she leaned against the bar and watched people enter and leave the pub. And she still could not remember what she had come to buy.

With a soft groan, she slid the empty bottle towards Tom, tossed a few coins on the bar and left. Once more out in the rain, her cloak was soaked but she did not bother with it.

At the loft, she felt a hot shower, or at least a cup of hot chocolate, would do her some good. She peeled off her cloak and folded it over her arm, planning on drying it out in a minute or two.

She took a step, then paused. Remus was in the living room. And he had company.

'Sirius.' Gen thought. 'Just who I needed to see.'

She was planning on ignoring them both. But then, she had another idea.

Tossing her cloak over a kitchen chair, she headed into the living room and settled down on the other end of the couch. "Hi." she said with a tiny smile. "Not interrupting, am I?"

"Of course not." Sirius leaned back and studying her from behind his bangs. She was up to something, it was obvious.

But what?

"Where did you go?" Remus asked, looking at her, too. He was not studying her as Sirius was.

"Diagon Alley." She shrugged. "I needed to go get something, but I couldn't remember what, so I just came back. It's freezing out there. Though I think the rain played a part in that."

Sirius nodded. "It is chilly. And you went out in that?"

"I had my cloak." Gen muttered. "Didn't do me much good, though." She smiled softly and leaned into the couch. "I guess that's what I get for going by myself."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. Remus, too, had noticed that she was up to something. And neither of them was sure what. But both figured it was not too good if it were Gen.

She absently twirled a strand of black hair between her fingers. "Hmm, if I had someone to go with me, they could have reminded me what I needed to get."

"Well, take me next time you go." Remus offered.

"No," she said, shaking her head, "no, you wouldn't help me. And you aren't interested in doing anything with me. So why should I waste your time?"

"I'd go," Sirius offered, trying his best to not take notice of the hurt expression on Remus's face, "but you hate me."

"I guess I just don't have anyone then." Gen muttered, getting to her feet and trying to hide her smirk. "You wouldn't even go if I asked you, Sirius. I know you. Diagon Alley is too tame. Plus, you'd just wander off from me..." she trailed off with a sigh.

"I'd go!" Sirius said quickly. "I just said I would."

"Well... maybe next time, hmm?"

She bounced out of the room and down the hall, grinning to herself. Even though it was very cruel of her, she was hoping that Remus now knew how she felt.


	10. Chapter 10

Never Say Never

Chapter 10

Gen leaned against the wall behind her bed and sighed. She felt terrible for what she had done, but yet, she also felt a bit of satisfaction.

'I probably didn't even get to him, though.' she thought.

"Ah, well. It was sort of... fun." she said. With a tiny smile playing at her lips, she leaned back against the wall, her eyes shut.

Remus did not think it was fun. In fact, he was actually hurt by what she had said.

He was at the kitchen table, thumbing through a heavy stack of parchment, trying to take his mind off Gen and what she had said. But the parchment was not proving too distracting.

He sighed, then shifted a few pieces to the large pile he needed to discard. He wasn't too sure why he was doing this, as it was not taking his mind off Gen, but it was something to do.

Maybe he should search for a job. He felt terrible for mooching off her, especially since she seemed to be trying her damnedest to forget him.

"Why, though?" he asked himself. "What did I do?"

Then, he paused. "Why do I even care?"

'Because I do fancy her and I hate upsetting her.' he decided silently. 'But I've got to stay firm. I can't let her get to me. I just can't.'

As he got up to throw away the bits and pieces of parchment, he heard her bedroom door open and shut. He instinctively glanced down the hall and spotted her heading his way.

"Hey." she smiled. "Spring cleaning?" she asked, pointing to the parchment in his hands.

"No, too early." Remus smiled. "I was just getting rid of some things."

Gen nodded slowly. "Well, I'm off to Hogsmeade. Do you want anything?"

Remus has the urge to ask her to go with her, but he knew she'd refuse. So he shook his head. "No, I don't need anything."

"I'll bring you something anyway." she said. "Bar of Honeyduke's chocolate?"

Remus bit back what he wanted to say and nodded. "Sure, sounds great."

Gen managed a small smile before leaving. With one motion, Remus dropped the parchment into the garbage and scowled. He wanted to go with her. He wasn't used to her behaving as she was. He felt terrible, but why he wasn't sure.

Instead of standing there by the bin, pondering, he grabbed his cloak and raced out the door.

He wandered about Diagon Alley, his hands in his pockets. At the Magical Menagerie, he paused and stared into the window. A small puffskein stared back at him. Maybe what he needed was a companion, though puffskeins weren't too much for companionship as they were being tossed around and played with.

Either way, he headed into the shop and emerged a few minutes later, the puffskein tucked away safely in his pocket and his wallet a little bit lighter.

Where it was already light to begin with.

He felt like kicking himself for spending some of what little bit of money he had, but he just decided to head back home before he spent any more. He needed to save.

Especially if Gen got the nerve to kick him out. With her acting the way she had been, he would not be too surprised if she did kick him out.

He sat the puffskein down on the table just as Gen got back. She stared at it as it sat ruffling itself. "What is that?" she asked. "And what is it doing on my table?"

"It's a puffskein." Remus answered. "I wanted a pet, some company."

"I'm company!" Gen argued. "And you become a pet once a month!" She seemed highly insulted, but why, Remus did not know. He seriously doubted it was his puffskein.

He decided to let the werewolf comment slide, even though he could have given her a very forceful argument.

"Fine, I'll take it back."

"No, keep the damn thing." she spat. And a moment later, his bar of chocolate bounced harmlessly off his chest as she headed back to her room.

He stared after her, even still after her long black hair disappeared from sight.

"If anyone should be mad, it's me." he said to the puffskein, who hummed, oblivious to the fact that it could have been crushed under a bar of chocolate.

He watched as the puffskein tried to go after the chocolate bar, its long tongue sneaking out from an unseen mouth. But the wrapping prevented it from having any.

Remus bent, picking up the bar, and unwrapped it. He broke off a piece and sat it near the puffskein so it could eat. He rewrapped the chocolate, feeling too angry and hurt to eat it.

Leaning back into the couch, he frowned. What was on her mind? And what could be possibly do to get her to understand that, yes, he loved her, but he was keeping away for her well-being?


	11. Chapter 11

Never Say Never

Chapter 11

'Why did I ever open my big mouth?' Gen thought sullenly. She and Sirius were heading down the streets of Diagon Alley, he giving her looks out of the corner of his eye when he thought she was not looking. And she was growing tired of that already.

"Sirius, quit." she said, catching him glancing at her.

"Quit what?" he asked, leaning against the side of a shop. "Gwen, come on. Admit it. You don't want to be here with me anymore than you would with Voldemort."

Gen gave him a look she tried to reserve for him and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's better than wandering about on my own. I'm just a girl, Sirius. Poor... defenseless..."

Sirius started to laugh. "You? Defenseless?"

"I lose my head easily." Gen shrugged.

Sirius shook his head. Even though that was true, that was not what he was getting at.

"Gwen," he said, "you don't want me here. You hate me. You're just using me to get to Remus. And I daresay that's working."

Gen scoffed and rolled her eyes. But she did not make eye contact with Sirius.

"Like anything will get to him." she said softly. Sirius barely heard her. "Nothing will get to him. I just wanted to come here with someone, that's all."

"James was free. So was Evans."

Gen shook her head. She did not speak for a full minute. "Sirius, come on. Even if I was trying to get to Remus, you and I both know he doesn't care for me. So it would just be a waste. Now, do you remember what I wanted to come get?"

Sirius could not help but grin. "Fine," he said, "be that way. You needed to get Frank a new cage, remember? Something about the bottom of his getting rusty."

"Right." Gen said with a tiny smile. Without another word, she turned and headed toward the Magical Menagerie. "Will you carry it for me?" she asked as Sirius appeared at her side.

Sirius shrugged. "I guess that's what I'm for."

Gen gave him a small, very quick smile before heading over to the wall lined with cages. She decided on a larger one with a very thick perch.

"Like you're going to keep him in it." Sirius grumbled as the two of them exited the shop a minute later, he carrying the cage and her tucking her coins in her pocket.

"He does fly around freely a lot..." Gen trailed off. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and tried not to smirk. She was actually enjoying herself, making Sirius carry that cage for her.

Maybe she should tell him that she wanted to browse some more. But she decided that she wanted to head home.

Maybe Remus wasn't there.

"Let's go." she told Sirius, who let out a noise of thanks, which was a tiny bit muffled by the cage he was carrying.

Once they were safely back at the loft, Sirius decided to let the cage drop, but then he caught the look Gen gave him.

"Have fun?"

The two glanced at the table, where Remus was skimming a bit of parchment, most likely a letter from his parents.

"Oh, yes. I love carrying heavy cages." Sirius said with a grin. "And Gwendolyn and I got did get into a bit of an argument."

"When don't you?" Remus asked, trying to suppress a grin.

Gen decided to let the two of them talk. She picked up the cage and headed into her room, where she sat it down against the far wall that was not blocked by anything.

"What do you think?" she asked, turning to her owl, who was pouting in his cage, which did seem a bit small for him.

She pulled her wand and pointed it at the cage. The door sprang open and Frank poked his head out and hooted curiously.

"No, you can't go hunt." she sighed. "Come look at your new cage."

With a bit of difficulty owing to the size of the door of his old cage, Frank hopped onto the desk, then fluttered over to Gen, landing on her shoulder. She lifted him from her shoulder and placed him inside his new cage.

"What do you think?" she asked again.

He hooted and waited patiently for her to fill up his water and food dishes.

"Glad you like it." she smiled. She reached into the cage to stroke her owl and smiled. "Seems like today's a bit of a good day, huh, Frank?"

Frank ignored her as he dipped his beak into the water.

"Oh, fine." she smiled. "Have fun."

She latched the cage securely, then headed out of the door and into the kitchen once more.

"Sirius gone?" she asked.

"Yes." Remus said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Oh." She wondered if it would be fine with him if she sat down. She did want to talk to him, but she was sure, judging by his body language that she was not really wanted at the table right now.

"OK." she said softly. She bit her lip to keep from crying. "I'll go for a walk." she said.

Remus glanced up as she past him. But she was already out the door.

"I've done it again." he groaned, tempted to go after her. But he wasn't sure where she had gone. So he decided to wait until she returned to talk to her.

If she wanted to talk, that was.


	12. Chapter 12

Never Say Never

Note: Ah, it's short, shorter than I wanted, but next chapter will be longer.

Chapter 12

Gen returned after an hour or so. There was no sign that she had been crying. But she was definitely making sure that she was avoiding Remus's gaze.

"We... I guess we have to talk." she whispered. She was wringing her hands together and staring at her feet. "Please?" she asked.

He nodded and scooted down the couch a bit so she could sit down. She sank down on the couch and continued to avoid his gaze.

He waited patiently for her to say something. Finally, she let out a sigh and launched into what she wanted to say to him.

"Listen, I know you don't care about me the way I do you. And I know you hate me for making passes and flirting and trying to get you to date me. And I want to apologize."

"You're forgiven." Remus said, obviously not expecting any of this.

Gen shook her head. "I'm not done and you don't sound like you forgive me. Please, I'm really and truly sorry. There's nothing I can do to make it up to you and to make you not be angry with me for it. I... I'll stop. I'll stop the flirting, the asking you to dinner, the – I'll try to stop myself from fancying you, too."

She got to her feet and sniffled. "And you can stay." she added. "You've done nothing for me to kick you out."

"I -- "

She shook her head as he started to speak and headed to her room.

"I wasn't planning on leaving." Remus whispered to the empty living room.

He had the sudden desire to go to her room and comfort her. But instead, he remained on the couch, staring at his hands.

Did she mean it? he wondered. He did not know. She had sounded like she meant it. But it would be hard, nay, impossible for her to do such. From what he had heard from James, and from what he had seen from her, she really did seem to care a great deal for him.

He got to his feet and headed to the kitchen without realizing what he was doing. He fumbled and made himself a cup of tea, even though he wasn't too thirsty.

Vaguely he wished his parents were around. Or James, even. But James was probably spending his time with Lily.

He shouldn't bother anyone anyway. He wasn't too sure what he was feeling.

"Gen," he sighed into his tea, "you're a confusing woman."

His tea could not answer him, naturally. He wasn't expecting it to, and frankly, he would have been surprised and scared if it had.

He sighed and poured his cold tea down the sink. He really ought to go check on Gwendolyn. She did seem very hurt.

Silently, he headed down the hall and to her room. The door was slightly ajar and he pushed it open. She was curled up in bed, asleep or awake he could not tell.

"Gwendolyn?" he asked softly, taking a step inside the room. "Gen?"

She stirred, but said nothing. She must have been asleep.

With a inaudible sigh, Remus stepped back into the hall and pulled her door shut and headed back to the living room.

She, meanwhile, was faking sleep. "I don't want to talk to you." she whispered to the empty room. "I said what I wanted to say."

She buried her face into her pillow and let out a loud, yet muffled, groan. 'That was hard,' she thought, 'too hard. But I've got to try. He doesn't want me.'

Unable to get to sleep on her stomach in that awkward half-balled position, she rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. She did not know what to do. She felt she could not stay in the loft while he was around. It was painful.

"I can't leave though." she whispered. "He needs a place, and I need company. I can't leave." she repeated. "I want to stay!" She felt like screaming at the otherwise empty room, but kept her mouth shut tightly.

She silently wished for help, something that could fix the horrible mess she had made.

And something happened to be coming their way in a feathery package. Something that neither of them would like to see.


	13. Chapter 13

Never Say Never

Chapter 13

Remus was sitting on the couch, sorting through things Gen had asked him to as a favor. A box of pictures that had been taken while they were at school.

And he was finding it to be a very hard task. And the fact that James had showed up and was "helping", that wasn't helping much.

"Give me this one?" James asked sweetly.

"They're not mine to give!" Remus argued.

"Oh Gwennie won't miss them." James insisted. And he pocketed the picture he was holding. Along with a few that Remus did not see him sneak into his pockets.

Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head but did not tell James to put the picture back.

"Where is Miss Moore anyway?" James asked, leaning back against the couch and folding his arms behind his head.

"In her room." Remus said softly.

"She's here?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't..." he trailed off. "You two fought?"

"More like she upset herself." Remus answered. "And me. And I can't comfort her."

"Why?" James demanded. "Despite whatever you say, however much you try to deny it, you love -- "

James trailed off at a familiar tapping sound. He and Remus looked at the window at the same time. An unfamiliar owl was perched on the sill, a scroll in its beak.

Remus got to his feet and carefully opened the window. The owl did not fly in. It merely dropped its scroll and flew off. He snatched it up and read it, his eyebrows meeting together.

"What is it?" James demanded, being nosy and trying to read over Remus's shoulder.

"Dumbledore." Remus answered. "He wants to speak to me. As soon as possible. So, will you do me a favor?" he asked, turning to James, who nodded.

"Keep an eye on Gen for me until I get back?"

"And by that you mean talk to her, right?" James asked with a smirk.

Remus said nothing. He merely inclined his head, grabbed his cloak, and left.

James looked at the stack of photos on the table, then smiled softly and headed back to Gen's room, barging in without knocking.

"What do you want?" Gen asked, stretched out on her bed, staring at the ceiling, her eyes half shut. "I've done nothing to you." she added.

"No, you haven't." James flopped down on her bed and smiled. "But I do feel like bothering you." he added.

"Why?" Gen asked, ending with a slight groan. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Being terrible to Remus."

"I did -- " Gen began, sitting up and glaring at him, but James cut her off.

"He's hurt, Gwen, and that's obvious. And you aren't taking notice to it. Why ignore him? Why push him away?"

"Why ask me?" Gen asked hotly. "Ask him!"

"He said you upset yourself. And him. What did you do?"

Gen sighed softly and drew her knees to her chest. In a soft voice, she told him what she had told Remus. When she was finished, she tied to avoid his gaze.

Softly, she asked, "James... did I do wrong?"

"No," James began slowly. "You did what you thought was right. And yet, you and I both know you cannot keep that promise. Especially not while you're under the same roof as he is."

"I know." Gen whimpered. "James... this is too hard. I don't want to hate him. But I feel like I need to bring myself to think that way."

"You can't." James pointed out. "It will be impossible. So don't try."

"Don't try what?"

The two of them glanced up at Remus, who was leaning against the door and watching them curiously. "Don't try what?"

"What did Dumbledore want?" James demanded.

"Dumbledore?" Gen asked, looking from James to Remus, but neither acknowledged her.

"He wants me to do something for him. It'll get me out of the house for about a week. He's going to let me sleep on it."

Gen bit her lip. It was not her place to tell Remus what she thought of the idea, even though he had not given details. She knew she should just keep quiet and let Remus think about it and try to talk to him in the morning.


	14. Chapter 14

Never Say Never

Chapter 14

Gen was on her bed, her knees drawn to her chest. James was sitting at the foot of her bed, watching her intently. Neither of them had spoken, though he was nearly positive as to what was on her mind.

"Why?" she asked, looking up at James as though she had just realized he was there.

"Well, I can't really speak for Dumbledore -- "

"No, why would Remus decide to go?" she asked. "I thought... it seemed like..."

"Well," James began with a smile, "well... he's a growing boy, Gwen, and sadly, we have to let him go and do for himself or he'll never learn."

"Not funny." Gen said, even though she had cracked a small smile of her own. Giggling, she shook her head. "I guess it's true, though. Our little boy is growing up."

James let out a dramatic sniff. "What are we going to do now?"

"Well," James began, grinning, "you've got the place to yourself. You can have fun, enjoy yourself, invite the girls over, and me, and we can cause mass mayhem and the Muggle police will be called and -- "

Gen rolled her eyes. "If I invite anyone over, you, sir, will certainly not be on the list."

"Oh come now!" James demanded. "I'm just as... invitable... as everyone else."

"Is that even a word?" Gen asked, seriously doubting it was. "And you are, but I'd much rather be by myself. I can think better that way and maybe I can use this as a way to, you know... stop thinking about Remus."

"WHAT?" James yelped. "You can't! It's impossible. And even if it wasn't, then you still couldn't. You love him."

"That I do," Gen began, "but it's not going to happen, James. You know that."

"I know nothing!" James said. Then he stared as she started to giggle again. "Well, nothing about this, but Gen, you can't give it up! He does love you, he's just having a hard time admitting it to himself. And, really, giving up on him is not a good thing. For example: I didn't give up on Lily did I?"

"No," Gen said, "but we all knew it was just a matter of time until she gave in."

"Yeah..." James smiled wistfully. Gen let him have a moment or two before clearing her throat. "Um... what was I saying?"

"You were just leaving." she said, rolling her eyes.

James stared at her for a minute, then managed a tiny smile. "And so were you."

"I am?" she asked, her eyebrows nearly meeting in confusion.

"Yes, we're going to Diagon Alley and you're treating me to ice cream."

"I am?" she asked again, her eyebrows meeting this time. "Really? When did I say this?"

"I said it," James said, "and you need the ice cream. To cheer you up. And I don't have any money on me, so you're paying. Besides, how often do I pay for things when we get ice cream or sweets?"

"Never!" Gen laughed, hitting him with her pillow. "But if you want ice cream badly, there's some strawberry in the freezer. I think."

James got to his feet and left her bedroom, heading into the kitchen, no doubt to check to see if this strawberry ice cream was really in there.

Gen leaned against the wall and stared ahead. James was just trying to help her, and she needed to not show him how she felt then and there. She felt terrible, but if he knew that, then he would spend more time trying to cheer her up when there were much better things that needed to be done.

She sighed faintly and sat up, just in time for James to join her. Faking a smile, she took the spoon he offered and the two dove into the half-empty carton of strawberry ice cream.

"You know what?" James asked a few minutes later as their spoons scraped the bottom of the carton. "I'm not usually big on strawberry, but that was pretty good."

Gen smiled and nodded in agreement. After all, he had eaten more than she had.

"I do hate to eat and run, Gwendolyn, but I need to see how Lily's feeling. She's been a bit under the weather lately."

"Then go check on her." Gen said softly. "And give her a kiss from me, OK?"

"Will do." James smiled. "Take care. If you need anything -- "

"I know where to find you." she said in a falsely cheerful tone. "Take care."

"And you. Take it easy. And don't try to get over Remus."

"I won't."

Which was a flat out lie. As she curled up on her bed a few minutes later, she felt bad for lying to James. And even worse for lying to herself.


	15. Chapter 15

Never Say Never

Chapter 15

Remus sighed softly as he stood outside what appeared to be a deserted inn. Dumbledore had told him it was otherwise. He needed somewhere to stay for the night. But he was very wary of this place.

Finally, after letting out another sigh, he stepped to the door and gently pushed it open.

And he immediately regretted it. The small room was filled with what seemed to be cigar smoke. Several seedy-looking wizards were in a corner, muttering to themselves. Most likely doing something illegal.

The innkeeper said nothing to him as he tossed Remus a room key and pointed onto the desk, indicating that he was too busy to take Remus's money and wanted him to sit it there.

Timidly, Remus sat a few coins on the desk and glanced at the small tag on the end of the key. Room 202. It turned out to be the last room down the dark hall on the right.

He fumbled around inside the room for a bit, which seemed to be darker than the hall, until he found a small box of candles. He lit them and gingerly levitated them so he could see a bit better.

"At least the bed's clean." he muttered, settling down in the middle of it. He was not tired just yet. And at any rate, he wasn't too sure he could even get to sleep in this place.

He sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed and pulled a long scroll of parchment out of his pocket and began to scan it.

After a few moments, he yawned softly and realized he was listening for something. Not the sound of a wizard who would be willing to do anything for money as the wizards downstairs seemed to be.

But the sound of footsteps. Light feminine footsteps.

He shook his head quickly and rolled up the parchment. "No way." he told himself. "You're just... used to hearing her wander around. That's it."

With another very tiny, hard noticeable yawn, he pulled out a map and flicked his wand, bringing a few candles closer to him.

He began to murmur softly to himself, trying to figure out where it was he was at. And where he was supposed to be going. Dumbledore had been unclear, just telling him to make sure he met up with a group of people who would be more than willing to help them.

"Somewhere here, I guess." he muttered, reaching into a small bag to pull out a quill and half-empty pot of ink. He dipped the quill in the ink only to realize he had taken the pale blue ink from Gen before he had left.

"No," he told himself again, "it was just because you couldn't find any other ink."

He made a small notation on the map with the quill. He was supposed to stay in the little inn he was at until he heard from this group.

But he wasn't too keen on the idea. And he very quickly made plans to look for another place to stay in the morning.

He rolled up the map and put the quill and ink away. He slipped off his coat and laid it at the foot of the bed before stretching out, fully dressed. He'd rather stay dressed just in case he decided to bolt. He did not like this place at all.

"Better than being with werewolves, though." he muttered to himself, shutting his eyes for just a moment.

He awoke to the loud pounding at the door. He stretched, rubbed his eyes and answered the door.

The innkeeper was standing impatiently at the door, parchment and quill in hand. He looked curiously at Remus, who realized that this man was a mute.

"No," he said, shaking his head, "no breakfast for me, thanks."

The man shuffled away as Remus shut the door and leaned against it. He could find something to eat later. He wasn't too hungry then anyway.

He decided to study his map a bit better with the sunlight coming in through the grimy window. Which proved to be fruitless.

He shook his head and tried to make an effort to improve his appearance. He straightened his hair and used his wand to get rid of wrinkles in his clothes.

Quickly, he grabbed his things and raced out of the door. He did not feel tempted to come back. And maybe he could find a place to stay that was better. Or that could take his mind off Gwendolyn for a little while. And needless to say, he was going to find just that.


	16. Chapter 16

Never Say Never

Chapter 16

Gen let out a soft sigh as she leaned her head against the window. The loft seemed so empty, so quiet. So lonely. She pulled herself away from the window, got up, and stretched. Vaguely, she wondered if she should have taken up Lily's invite to go to Hogsmeade.

If shopping wouldn't have cheered her up, she could have at least bought a few things she needed.

"Ah well, can't tell her now."

She padded down the hall and into the kitchen. She should really clean the dishes. With a lazy flick of he wand, they began to clean themselves. She did not care if Muggles saw or what they thought.

She sat down at the table and rested her chin in her hands. She was tired, having not slept well the night before. And she was worried, naturally.

"Why did you go?" she whispered furiously. Sure, she loved Remus, but she did feel some hatred towards him, too.

She blinked sleepily and stifled a yawn. She was so lonely, so bored, and so tired. But she wasn't completely desiring company then and there.

Not even James.

Her left hand found itself tangled in her hair as she flicked her wand and made herself a cup of hot chocolate. "Firewhiskey would be better." she told herself, downing the chocolate in one gulp and immediately regretting it. It was unbearably hot.

After gagging, spluttering, and downing a few cold glasses of water, Gen got to her feet and headed into the bathroom to wash the chocolate out of her hair.

As she did, she wondered where Remus was. And what he was up to.

Where he was, he wasn't sure. And what he was up to? Well, Remus was sure that was getting himself lost. He should have stayed at that grimy inn.

But he wasn't even sure which was it was anymore. Shaking a few leaves out of his hair, Remus sank down on a stump and pulled out his map. Vaguely expecting to see some sign of where he was, he was still was not disappointed that he wasn't.

So he decided to rest a bit. There was no real use in wandering around tired, especially when he had no idea where he was to start with.

He just hoped whoever was supposed to reach him would.

Shutting his eyes, Remus folded the map and let it hang loosely in his hands. He needed to find somewhere to stay. It probably wasn't too safe to stay out there by himself. And magic. He wasn't sure it was too smart to use it.

"HI!"

The sudden noise startled Remus, nearly causing him to fall off the stump.

"Who are you?" he demanded, turning around to face the source of the greeting. "And what are you doing here?"

"I am Annie. And I live here." Annie smiled at him, her show brown hair pulled back in a clip, her green eyes curious. She was nearly a foot shorter than him. Something that was somewhat new to Remus.

"Well, not here," she continued hastily, "over... well, I'll show you!"

She grabbed his hand and tugged, dragging him through a group of trees. She was surprisingly strong.

A few moments later, he was standing in front of what seemed to be a small townhouse. Why it was there, he wasn't sure. But Annie continued to drag him, up the steps and inside.

"Is it... just you?" he asked her.

"Yes... who did you expect?"

At first glance, Remus would have thought her to be fourteen at the most. But she must be older. He was kind of frightened to ask her her age.

But she seemed to know what he was thinking.

"I get that a lot." she said sadly. "I know I look like a preteen, but trust me. I'm past my teen years. By a little bit. I will be twenty-two next week."

Remus tried to hide his look of surprise.

"Well, happy early birthday then." he told her.

"You won't be around?" she asked, her lower lip stuck out in a pout. "Please?"

Remus started to stammer. What should he do? Lie and say he had a girlfriend? Say it was just a vacation?

"I understand." Annie said heavily. She pointed to the room next to them. "There's the kitchen, help yourself. You look like you could use it. And down the hall, just past the kitchen, there's a room you can stay in."

Without a word, she left him. Remus stared at where she had been standing, thinking she was rather interesting, to say the least.


	17. Chapter 17

Never Say Never

Note: I think I've given up on Renunciation and about to with this. Everything I wind up liking is usually ignored. Therefore I guess I need to think of another chapter fic to do.

And stop talking to myself.

Chapter 17

Remus awoke the next morning by a beam of sunlight falling on his face. He blinked, then rolled over on his side to get the sunlight out of his face. He could hear the sounds of someone in the kitchen, making breakfast.

Just one thing. Where was he?

Then he remembered something about a girl dragging him there. With a yawn, he timidly got up and touched the floor with his feet, instantly drawing them back under the covers. The floor was freezing.

"Hey."

He glanced up, kind of half-hoping it was Gen. But he was not disappointed to see Annie.

"I was wondering when you were going to get up." she smiled.

"I guess I needed more sleep than I thought." Remus said sheepishly.

"Well, do you want breakfast?" Annie asked. "I can bring you something if you want me to."

Breakfast did sound good, but Remus shook his head. He was determined to get out of there as soon as he could. He wanted to be home. He wanted his parents. And he wanted Gen.

She watched him slip on his shoes and look around for something.

"Your jacket thing?" she asked sweetly. "I washed it last night. I hope you don't mind."

Remus winced, then he softly asked, "And did you take anything out of the pockets?"

"There was something in the pockets?" Annie looked confused.

Emus got to his feet and asked where his coat was. She pointed to the living room, where it was draped over a chair. And on top of his coat sat a white cat, who seemed to have claimed his coat for itself.

"Go on," Remus began, making motions towards the cat to try to shoo it away. "Go on, shoo!"

The cat stared at him, then swished its tail.

"That's Snowball." Annie was right at his elbow, smiling at him. "She's fairly sweet unless she wants to sleep."

"Well I need my coat," Remus told her, "and I need to go."

"You aren't -- "

"No." Remus was growing very annoyed. He needed to check and make sure nothing in his pockets had ruined during the wash. He grabbed his coat and pulled. Snowball went flying to the floor. She glared at him and swished her tail before heading into the kitchen.

"That was mean." Annie said softly.

Remus said nothing. He sat down in the chair and began to search through the pockets, scowling. His fingers touched wet parchment.

"Great." he whispered, pulling out the damp map. "Great." It was now illegible. And he had no owl, no means to contact Dumbledore.

Maybe he should just try to get home.

He glanced up. Annie was watching him. Beyond her, he could see the cat on the kitchen counter, helping herself to sausage.

"Thanks." he told her. He pulled on his coat and headed towards the door. Maybe, if he could get home soon, he could tell Dumbledore and he could send an owl to the people that Remus was supposed to be meeting. Maybe they would understand.

He found himself hoping Gen would as well.

But then he felt a hand on his arm. "Please don't leave." Annie whispered. "I need someone here. It gets so lonely and scary here at night. I actually slept well with you here."

Remus shrugged her arm off. Sure he was being moody, and that wasn't him, but even if he stayed, the woman would get suspicious. He was a werewolf, after all.

"Sorry. I have a girlfriend I need to get home to."

She looked crushed. And Remus did feel bad. But a small part of him knew that Gen would probably get a kick out of that.


	18. Chapter 18

Never Say Never

Chapter 18

But Gen did not get a kick out of that.

"So... so you've come back, for about two minutes to tell me this, this story. And you thought I would find it funny that you lied to some woman and said I was your girlfriend?" she asked, her hands on her hips. "Remus!"

"What?" Remus asked. He was seated at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea. "I would think you'd like to be my fake girlfriend for a little bit."

"No, I wouldn't!" Gen stamped her foot and glared at him. "I want – would like – to be your real girlfriend. Not some excuse!"

He sighed softly as she turned on her heel and stomped off down the hall. Polishing off his tea, he stared at the bottom of the cup, like it would provide the answers to his unasked questions.

Instead, he jumped as an owl tapped against the small kitchen window. Remus glanced up and furrowed his brow in confusion at the sight of the unfamiliar owl.

"What do you want?" he asked the bird, getting up and tying to unlatch the window. The owl managed to wriggle inside and drop the letter in the sink. It hooted and waited patiently for him.

A small smile twitched at Remus's lips. He grinned at the sight of the familiar handwriting. "Mum." he murmured. "They must be back."

He tore open the envelope and read his mother's note quickly. Then he slowed down and read it again.

As he looked around for something to write a quick reply with, he noticed the owl followed him, leaving wet footprints everywhere.

"What do you want?"

The owl hooted in response and fluttered onto his shoulder.

"Are you mine?" he asked in disbelief

The owl hooted again.

"I guess so."

Remus found nothing to write a quick reply with so he gathered up a bit of courage and headed in their to ask Gen. She was seated on the edge of her bed, brushing her hair. 

"What?" she asked before he could say anything. He watched her flip her head so she could brush the other side. Then he shook his head.

"I, um, needed a quill. My parents are back and they want to know if we'll drop by tonight for dinner." Remus muttered. She pointed to the desk. Surprised by her cool attitude, he grabbed a quill and bit of parchment and left the room.

He sent the reply back to his parents. He said he'd love to go to dinner with them but was not sure that Gen would go as well.

He knew his mother would not be too happy to hear that. She had gotten close to Gen and treated her like her own daughter.

He took his owl back to his room, trying to decide on a name. He wasn't even sure of the gender, so may as well pick a unisex name. He decided on the name "Uri" for the time being.

Uri nestled comfortably in its cage and nodded off. Despite the sleep Remus had gotten before, he decided that Uri had the right idea and nodded off himself.

When he awoke, he wondered how long he had slept. He did not hear any noise inside the loft. Timidly, he glanced at his watch and breathed a quick sigh of relief. It was close to dinner time, but he had not overslept. He figured he may as well get up and get ready to go.

To his surprise, Gen was not in the loft. He wondered where she could have gone as he dressed and ran a comb through his hair. He snatched up his wand and jacket and dashed out the door.

A few minutes later, he was settled comfortably at a table in The Leaky Cauldron with his parents.

"I wasn't sure if you'd like to be out or at home and eat." his mother said with an apologetic smile.

"This is fine." Remus told her. He was just glad to see his parents. And know his father was around in case he needed to talk to him.

Which was going to be soon. He glanced towards the door and paled. Gen was heading inside, chatting away with a dark-haired man he had not seen before.


End file.
